The Oathbreaker’s Shadow by Amy
McCulloch, The Knots Sequence #1
Fifteen-year-old Raim lives
in a world where you tie a knot for every promise that you make. Break that
promise and you are scarred for life, and cast out into the desert.
Raim has worn a simple knot
around his wrist for as long as he can remember. No one knows where it came
from, and which promise of his it symbolises, but he barely thinks about it at
all—not since becoming the most promising young fighter ever to train for the
elite Yun guard. But on the most important day of his life, when he binds his
life to his best friend (and future king) Khareh, the string bursts into flames
and sears a dark mark into his skin.
Scarred now as an
oath-breaker, Raim has two options: run, or be killed.
Set to be released in the June 2013,
The Oathbreaker’s Shadow is the debut young-adult book of Amy McCulloch, who is
a commissing editor for Harper science fiction and fantasy department Voyager.
The Oathbreaker’s Shadow is the first book in a planned duology known as the Knots
Sequence. Now the name of the series might strike you as a bit odd, but the
knot refers to an integral part in the story. As soon as I read the back of
this book and saw the front cover I already had high hopes of this book. I’m
always on the look for new ideas in fantasy and The Oathbreaker’s Shadow
definitely falls into that category. Combining a interesting world set in the
desert and a new idea that can either make or break you as soon as you break
the promise.
The idea behind The Oathbreaker’s
Shadow are oaths. Living up to them and the consequences of breaking them. When
you are young, the consequences of breaking your oaths are harmless, however as
you grow older and have reached the Honour Age, the oaths start to weigh in and
breaking them leads more severe consequences, exilement into the desert, to go
live with all the Oathbreaker’s in Lazar, they are known as the Chauk. The oaths
that are made between two people are shown by different threads of rope or
other material and are thereby materialized as promise knots. Another thing
that visualizes these oaths once broken are the shadows that appear to haunt
you, thereby allowing others to see that you are an oathbreaker and look down
upon you.
Let’s begin with the main protagonist
Raimanan. He is followed throughout the first book and he is in for quite an
adventure. In the beginning of the book he is living up to his dream reaching
the Honour Age and finally being able to join the Yun a set of warriors devoted
in protecting the Khan, the ruler of the lands. Raim has a lot of trust in his
best friend Kareh and wants to devote himself to be his protector. However
Kareh is much more boisterous in his doing and goes his own way. This goes even
more when Kareh learn that there is an old man in town that knows more about
the mysterious, but powerful Khan magic. Legends say that wielding this kind of
power, gives superiority above all. This is a strong lure for Kareh, who goes
through various lengths to get to the bottom of this. Later in the book you get
to know a lot more characters besides Kareh and Raim, that I think will be
recurring in the second part of this planned duology.
The plot of Oathbreaker’s Shadow moves
at a great speed. The first chapters of the book really settle down the world
that Raim and Kareh inhabit. Already from the first page, Amy McCulloch starts
to really build up the characters showing put both Kareh and Raim in a broad
daylight, showing a lot about their characters personalities, especially
creating a mysterious sense around Raim in particular. This world building from
the start was a big plus for me as it allowed me to be totally climb into the
story. After several events between Raim and Kareh, Oathbreaker’s shadow really
gains more momentum. However with what I had learned in the earlier chapter of
Oathbreaker’s Shadow, this rapid pacing didn’t take away any of the richness of
the storyline nor any of the characters. The second part of the plot plays into
the consequences of breaking ones oaths but I will refrain from telling that
part because that would reveal too much of the story itself. But it is unexpected and further increases a mystery about Raim himself. In the end this book is put on a pause, and I am very curious to see how
this story will unravel in the second book. Amy McCulloch writes what she wants
and where she wants it with great confidence, not sacrificing in not explaining
what makes this world and their inhabitants goes around, it’s a well rounded
story.
With Oathbreaker’s Shadow, Amy
McCulloch shows that she is a writer to be reckoned with. Oathbreaker’s Shadow is an amazing
debut, it is not easy to write a original young-adult book but Amy McCulloch knows what
she is doing. The idea's of oaths, breaking them and the consequences that follow them is fresh and original. Next to this she really manages to give you a
grande tour of the world she has created using Raim, a bit of naive protagonist in terms of his relation to his friend Kareh. From start to finish Oathbreaker's Shadow managed to grab and keep my attention. I hope the events of this first book are just the tip of the iceberg of what is in store for the remainder of this series. If you need a book to keep your kids entertained during a long drive for the vacation get them Oathbreaker's Shadow.